Her highly publicized decision to leave "Today" for the "CBS Evening News" anchor seat caused a media frenzy this year. She'll take a pay cut for her new position, where she will make history as the first woman to ever anchor the evening news solo. Her new contract also makes her a contributor to "60 Minutes" and anchor for CBS News prime-time specials. Media insiders are placing their bets as to whether America's sweetheart can convert her 6 million morning viewers to evening news fans.

Earnings estimates are for June 2005 to June 2006. Figures rounded off where appropriate. Exact figures available on Forbes.com. Includes dollars earned solely from entertainment income. Management, agent and attorney fees have not been deducted. Estimates by forbes; sources include Billboard, Pollstar, Adams Media Research, Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BookScan. Rankings are generated by combining earnings with other metrics: Web mentions on Google press clips compiled by LexisNexis; TV/radio mentions by Factiva; and number of times a celebrity's face appeared on the cover of 26 major consumer magazines.